GM has done essentially everything when it comes to performance cars, muscle cars, and sports cars. As a company, they shaped the muscle car formula with the 1964 Pontiac GTO. GM also produced one of the most successful sports cars on the planet, the Chevrolet Corvette. General Motors has an enormous portfolio of powerful and fast machines, and GM muscle cars are renowned around the world.
However, not all GM muscle cars are widely known and sought after by fans. Some GM muscle cars are strange, rare, and highly unusual takes on high-speed motoring. We found 20 strangest GM muscle cars that very few people including diehard drivers know about.
Oldsmobile 88 Rocket
For the 1949 model year, Oldsmobile presented two very important things – the 88 model series and a brand-new 303 CID V8 engine called the Rocket V8. Both of which proved very influential in Oldsmobile’s history. The 88 model was relatively light and compact, and Rocket V8 was considered a hot engine with a two-barrel carburetor and 135 HP on tap. The combination of a lightweight body and powerful engine in the form of the 1949 Oldsmobile 88 was arguably the first muscle car from Detroit (via Gold Eagle).
The ’49 Olds 88 enjoyed success with the customers and on the track too. It won 6 of the 9 NASCAR races that year and also proved competitive on the drag strip. The car was the theme of one of the first rock and roll songs ever made, called “Rocket 88” by the Kings of Rhythm. All of this makes this car extremely influential, not only in automotive history but in rock n’ roll history as well.